# David Belle

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French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator (born 1973)

David Belle Belle at the New Yorker Festival 2007 Born David Nicolas Williams Belle[1] (1973-04-29) 29 April 1973 (age 53) Fécamp, France Occupations Celebrity, Choreographer, Stunt coordinator Known for Parkour, film District 13 Parent(s) Raymond Belle (father) Monique Kitten (mother)

**David Nicolas Williams Belle** (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline [parkour](/source/Parkour), coining it based on his training and the teachings from his father [Raymond Belle](/source/Raymond_Belle).[2]

Belle came to fame via his parkour videos and film appearances, such as *[District 13](/source/District_13)*, *[District 13: Ultimatum](/source/District_13%3A_Ultimatum)*, which were written and produced by [Luc Besson](/source/Luc_Besson), and the American remake *[Brick Mansions](/source/Brick_Mansions)*. Belle has also consulted on the making of *[Babylon A.D.](/source/Babylon_A.D.)*, *[Prince of Persia](/source/Prince_of_Persia%3A_The_Sands_of_Time_(film))*, *[Colombiana](/source/Colombiana)*, *[The Family](/source/The_Family_(2013_film))*, and the videogame series *[Dying Light](/source/Dying_Light)*. He is the chair of the Parkour Committee of the [International Federation of Gymnastics](/source/International_Federation_of_Gymnastics).[3]

## Life and career

Further information: [Parkour § Raymond and David Belle](/source/Parkour#Raymond_and_David_Belle)

Belle was born and raised in [Fécamp](/source/F%C3%A9camp), the son of Monique and [Raymond Belle](/source/Raymond_Belle) of Paris. His grandfather Gilbert Kitten, father Raymond, and brother Jean-François Belle were highly skilled rescuers in the Military [Paris Fire Brigade](/source/Paris_Fire_Brigade).[4][5] His father Raymond Belle was born in [French Indochina](/source/French_Indochina), and was of French and Vietnamese descent, while his mother Monique Kitten was of French and English ancestry.

David Belle began developing parkour in Normandy while living with his grandfather, Gilbert.[6][7] In 1984, at the age of 11, Belle moved to [Lisses](/source/Lisses), France. He made close friends with a group of teenagers with similar physical passions who began training with him, transferring the techniques he learned in Normandy to an urban environment. Some of the friends that trained with David would later become known as the [Yamakasi](/source/Yamakasi). Later in life, Belle spent time in the military and fire brigade with aspirations of following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. David left soon after for personal reasons, as he felt the regimented life of the military was antithetical to his character. During his time in the [Marines](/source/Troupes_de_marine), he set the Regimental record for rope climbing (which was previously held by his father, Raymond) and earned a certificate of honor for his gymnastic abilities.[8]

Upon completing his national service, he worked in various professions including a warehouse worker, security guard and furniture salesman. He also spent 3 months in India studying [kung fu](/source/Kung_fu). After his return he continued his training in parkour and filmed footage of his capabilities which he later turned into the famous *Speed Air Man* video. In 1997 the Stade 2 team were shown a video of Belle and decided to film the first news broadcast featuring him and the Yamakasi.[9]

In filming this news feature, the term [Yamakasi](/source/Yamakasi) was used for the first time in connection with the team. Belle did not approve of the name and felt like it did not give credit to his father, so he split from the group after the feature. Later Belle would go on to train other students who gave themselves the name 'tracer.' The spelling was later adapted to 'traceur', and has since been used to define a practitioner of parkour.

Belle was first introduced to his acting career in a meeting with [Hubert Koundé](/source/Hubert_Kound%C3%A9) (*[La Haine](/source/La_Haine)*), in order to discuss the success of parkour in cinema. He then began developing his acting ability with the play [Pygmalion](/source/Pygmalion_(play)), and has since been successful in obtaining a number of roles mostly in French films and promotions. Belle has been featured in promotional videos for Tina Turner, and Iam. He has starred in "Les gens du voyages" and "Un monde meilleur", followed by "L'Engrenages" and "Femme Fatale", as well as "Les rivières pourpres 2", starring [Jean Reno](/source/Jean_Reno). After filming several more advertisements and promotions for the BBC, Nissan, Canon, and Nike, Belle was contacted by [Luc Besson](/source/Luc_Besson) (director of *[Nikita](/source/Nikita_(film))*, and *[The Fifth Element](/source/The_Fifth_Element)*) regarding co-starring as lead actor with [Cyril Raffaelli](/source/Cyril_Raffaelli) in the action movie *[District 13](/source/District_13)*, followed by the sequel *[District 13: Ultimatum](/source/District_13%3A_Ultimatum)*. Belle co-starred with [Paul Walker](/source/Paul_Walker) in *[Brick Mansions](/source/Brick_Mansions)* (2014), a remake of *District 13*.

## Filmography

### Film and television

Year Title Role Notes 2000 Louis Page Laurent 1 Episode 2001 Engrenage, L Le créancier 2002 Femme Fatale French Cop 2004 District 13 Leïto Parkour film debut 2005 Un monde meilleur Good Guy #1 2008 Babylon A.D. Hacker Kid - 2009 District 13: Ultimatum Leïto 2012 Métal Hurlant Chronicles Red Light 1 Episode 2013 Malavita Mezzo 2014 Brick Mansions Lino Duppre District 13 Remake 2014 Jaya Jaya (Short) 2016 Super Express Gary 2018 Defying Chase 2019 The Ultimate Code 2019 Invisible Tattoo 2020 Rogue City Bronx (in French)

### Stunts

Year Title/Company Notes 2000 Ménélik – Limbo Negro Music video 2000 Ford Commercial 2002 BBC One Advertising Campaign 2002 Lester Bilal feat. David Belle – Vibration Music video 2002 Canon Commercial 2002 Nike Commercial 2002 Nissan Commercial 2003 Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse Stunt Coordinator 2005 Transporter 2 Stunt Coordinator 2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Stunt Coordinator 2011 Covert Affairs Stunt Coordinator 2011 Colombiana Stunt Coordinator

### Video games

Year Title Role Notes 2015 Dying Light Antoine Merpe Also Mo-Cap, Stunt Coordinator & Counseling 2022 Dying Light 2 Hakon Also Mo-Cap, Stunt Coordinator & Counseling

## Endorsements and groups

Belle largely stays out of the public spotlight. His last major appearance was when he appeared as a guest at the New Yorker Festival in 2007. Belle was interviewed for the parkour article "No Obstacles" written by Alec Wilkinson which was published in April 2007.[10]

Belle formerly endorsed the clothing company Take Flight, but decided to sever his ties to the brand because he disapproved of their business activities and motives.[11]

## See also

- [Sébastien Foucan](/source/S%C3%A9bastien_Foucan)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["David Nicolas Williams Belle"](https://uspto.report/company/David-Nicolas-Williams-Belle). *USPTO*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["David Belle: Founder of Parkour Interview"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005712/https://parkulture.com/david-belle-founder-of-parkour-interview/). *parkulture.com*. Archived from [the original](https://parkulture.com/david-belle-founder-of-parkour-interview/) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-veconomist_3-0)** H.G. (6 October 2017). ["Parkour's street stuntmen resent the sport's new organisers"](https://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2017/10/guerrilla-gymnastics). *[The Economist](/source/The_Economist)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["David Belle"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120325052526/http://www.zoom-cinema.fr/people/david-belle/456/). zoom-cinema.fr. Archived from [the original](http://www.zoom-cinema.fr/people/david-belle/456/) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2011. *nous sommes le 29 avril 1973 à Fécamp. Naissance de David Belle(...)Suivant les traces de son père, Raymond Belle, et de son grand-père, Gilbert Kitten, David Belle rejoint les sapeurs pompiers de Paris puis les troupes de marine à Vannes*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["David Belle"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120609065037/http://parkourpedia.com/about/who-is-who/david-belle). parkourpedia.com (Original French biography referenced to David-Belle.com which no longer exists). Archived from [the original](http://parkourpedia.com/about/who-is-who/david-belle) on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2011. *David Belle was born on 29 April 1973 in Fécamp, in the Seine-Maritime département in Normandy. Descended from a modest family from the Parisian suburbs, it was in Fécamp and later in the town of Sables d'Olonne that David spent the first fourteen years of his life. Raised by his maternal grandfather, Gilbert Kitten (former sergeant-major of the Parisian sapeurs-pompiers military fire service), David was impressed by tales of heroism, and developed from a young age a passion for anything to do with action.*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Witfeld, Jan (2013). [*The Ultimate parkour & freerunning book : discover your possibilities*](https://books.google.com/books?id=_WWNAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA22). Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer sport. p. 22. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1782550204](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1782550204). "There, he transferred the techniques he had learned in the forests of Normandy to the urban environment"

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["BBC film's rooftop stunts 'real'"](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1939106.stm). 19 April 2002.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Hardman, Alun; Jones, Carwyn (13 September 2010). [*Philosophy of Sport: International Perspectives*](https://books.google.com/books?id=z4cnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 23. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4438-2546-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4438-2546-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Angel, Julie (2016). *Breaking the jump : the secret story of parkour's high-flying rebellion*. London. p. 4. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1781315545](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1781315545).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["No Obstacles"](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_wilkinson). *The New Yorker*. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["The Website of David Belle"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120426015830/http://www.davidbelle.com/fr/vetements.php). DavidBelle.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.davidbelle.com/fr/vetements.php) on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2011.

## External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[David Belle](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/David_Belle)***.

- [David Belle](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1042642/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [David Belle @ ECI Global Talent Management](http://la.ecitalent.com/biography/david-belle)

- [David Belle Official Website](https://davidbelleparkour.com)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Spain Poland Other IdRef SNAC Yale LUX

v t e Parkour and Freerunning Groups Yamakasi World Freerunning and Parkour Federation Australian Parkour Association Practitioners David Belle Sébastien Foucan Jérôme Ben Aoues John Hennigan Cyril Raffaelli Daniel Ilabaca Ryan Doyle Tim Shieff Damien Walters Documentaries Jump London (2003) Jump Britain (2005) Choose Not to Fall (2010) Films Yamakasi (2001) The Sons of the Wind (2004) District 13 (2004) District 13: Ultimatum (2009) Freerunner (2011) Brick Mansions (2014) Tracers (2015) Video games Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003) Free Running (2007) Assassin's Creed (2007) Mirror's Edge (2008) Dying Light (2015) Mirror's Edge Catalyst (2016) Ghostrunner (2020) Dying Light 2 (2022) Other Jackie Chan Jump City: Seattle Obstacle racing Red Bull Art of Motion Tricking Ultimate Parkour Challenge Vault Worldwide Jam Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Belle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Belle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Belle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.